Stuttering Foundation Co-sponsors Oxford Dysfluency Conference

The Stuttering Foundation will once again be a co-sponsor of the 12^th Oxford Dysfluency Conference, which will take place online January 7 and 8, 2021.

The Oxford Dysfluency Conference is one of the leading international scientific conferences in the field of stuttering. It brings together prominent researchers and clinicians to discuss innovative research and clinical practices.

This year’s speakers include Frank Guenther, Boston University; Ellen Kelly, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; Vivian Sisskin, University of Maryland; Kate Watkins, University of Oxford; and Ali Berquez, Michael Palin Centre for Stammering.

Conference topics include:

Conceptualizing stuttering
Genetics, brain, and neurophysiology
More than speech
Cluttering, acquired stuttering, and atypical disfluencies,
Working with people who stutter

The Stuttering Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the Oxford Dysfluency Conference.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor has been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter for many years, but probably few people know all of the unique accomplishments of this former hockey great who was born on December 4, 1955, in Levack, Ontario.

Winston Churchill

Seeking to "remove Winston Churchill's stutter by second guessing the diagnosis" indicates neither a truthful retelling of history nor an informed opinion about a complex speech disorder, say experts in the field of speech-language pathology.

Recent news reports that quote Dr. John Mather, a Washington physician, as saying that Churchill's stutter "is a lie" brought adamant critical response from specialists in the field of stuttering and fluency disorders.

Byron Pitts

Byron Pitts has brought much attention to stuttering with his memoir, Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life’s Challenges, released in September, 2009. The book not only details his speech difficulties, but also his illiteracy until age 12 and his unstable family life. Pitts overcame the odds to become the chief national correspondent with ABC News.

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.

Frank Wolf

This Virginian congressman has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. The longtime supporter of the Stuttering Foundation drew national attention to childhood stuttering in 2006 when he submitted an article about Tiger Woods from the SFA newsletter to the Congressional Record. The congressman is featured in the Stuttering Foundation's Famous People Who Stutter brochure.